Saturday, May 24, 2008

Are NASCAR Fans Going To Watch The Indy 500?

It has been a while since the Indy 500 was anything more than an exercise in survival for the sanctioning body. Try as he might, Tony George could not use the Indy race to springboard his all-oval series to the next level. Sometimes, the IRL even struggled to fill the field of 33.

Let's talk some TV here. Americans know Danica Patrick from her interviews and extensive media exposure. They know Helio Castroneves because of his Dancing With The Stars efforts. What they do not know is the rest of the Indy 500 field. Names like Rahal and Wheldon and Dixon might be of interest to race fans but entertainment TV viewers could care less. Bring on the summer dancing shows.

This year, however, there is one very big group in North America that is going to have an above average interest in the Indy 500. That group is NASCAR fans. Despite the fact that the open-wheel drivers who came over to NASCAR have been a tad less than impressive, it raised an issue. What did they do to get here?

Now, in May of 2008 there has been a series of events taking place that has landed a golden opportunity in the laps of the ESPN executives who are producing the Indy 500 for ABC Sports. First of all, the two open-wheel series are unified which will introduce a full field of actual racers.

Secondly, as noted above, Danica Patrick appeared in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Then, she appeared on NASCAR Now on ESPN2 as a guest. The question on everyone's lips was the same. When will Danica come to NASCAR? The topper was Patrick finally winning a race in the IRL Series. So, where Patrick is concerned, NASCAR fans want to see what all the fuss is about. Some are going to simply want to see the SI bikini girl driving a race car.

The biggest ingredient in NASCAR TV viewers possibly tuning-into the Indy 500 is easy to guess. It is those three little letters that have turned the NASCAR world upside-down in the Sprint Cup Series this season. For almost four months, NASCAR fans have been watching the COT race.

Instead of manufacturers, instead of brands, instead of putting something on purpose-built NASCAR machines to make them different and special, NASCAR and the IRL are now both racing cars no American will ever drive.

Suddenly, the gap between watching "your passenger car" race around the NASCAR track and racing those "open-wheel things" at Indy has narrowed. No one in NASCAR is now even pretending to be racing your car on Sunday.

The task of keeping the casual IRL viewer glued to the telecast is going to go to Marty Reid. A veteran with a long TV history of off-road, drag racing and even stock cars Reid should be primed for this unique challenge. He has a window of opportunity to get non-IRL fans interested and try to keep them until the end of the race.

As the ABC telecast takes to the air at Noon Eastern Time on Sunday, Reid will have a very interesting pair alongside in the announce booth. Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever, the "oil and water" TV announcers of the IRL, will be calling the action. The on-air dynamic of these two is fascinating, as Cheever tends to totally disregard almost everything Goodyear says.

As the IRL TV veteran on the telecast, Goodyear often seems stunned by Cheever's wholesale dismissal of points that Goodyear has just made on-the-air. The time on ESPN and ABC so far in the month of May points to the fact that it may be the announcers who provide more action that the current drivers in the series.

The pit road at the Indy 500 is an intense place to be. TV veterans Jack Arute, Vince Welch and Jamie Little will reprise their roles for the ABC telecast. IRL fans have been writing in to The Daly Planet and asking about the newest pit reporter Brienne Pedigo. Rather than deal with that issue here, perhaps this link to her website will lend readers a clue about why she is working on the IRL races.

No Indy 500 telecast would be complete without Brent Musburger and his podium. Once again, Musburger will be the "show host" for the entire event. His absolute unfamiliarity with NASCAR made him a laughing stock back in 2007 when he hosted the ABC events. Musburger is a great TV veteran with an amazing history. To simply put him behind a podium or in an infield setting and expect him to talk NASCAR was unfair. TV viewers will see if this exact same IRL setting proves to be as off-balance for Musburger and as frustrating for the fans.

While veteran racing fans may remember the glory days of the Indy 500 and the exciting telecasts on ABC, the vast majority of the "target demographic" of the IRL simply does not. It will be up to Reid and company to convince curious NASCAR fans and casual viewers that the resurgence of the IRL is in full swing.

As with every race on TV, the actual action on the track is going to play a major role in the retention of viewers on a sunny Memorial Day weekend. Spinning a realistic storyline throughout the telecast and reinforcing the positions of the high-profile drivers is going to have to stay a theme for the entire broadcast.

After a lot of email and discussion, The Daly Planet will host a live TV forum starting at 11AM Eastern Time on Sunday. That is when the pre-show activity begins on ESPN2. Then, the telecast switches to ABC at Noon. We will continue our live discussion of the ABC coverage through the entire race and experience it together.

Following the conclusion of the event, there will be a "wrap-up" column for your final comments about the day and the performance of the telecast team. No doubt there will be some interesting TV moments to relate.

Please feel free to post your Indy 500 pre-race TV-related comments on this post as NASCAR fans go through a very busy Saturday of on-track activity from two locations. This is a one time IRL special on The Daly Planet, and not the beginning of an expansion into open-wheel TV coverage.

To add your comment, simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy directions. The rules for posting are on the right side of the main page. Thanks for stopping by, we hope to see you Sunday beginning at 11AM Eastern Time for our discussion.

40 comments:

So disappointed in the photo you chose for the top of the page....*sigh* ;-)

I don't remember you mentioning the SIDE - By- Side commercials which is a big PLUS for IRL.

A couple of us are not fans of Cheever and Goodyear in the booth....can't we all get along...some of us still remember ESPN NASCAR crew last year that had us cringing as opposed to watching the race....we have a weak radio station this weekend for Indy race and will try to find it online for laptop if things get argumentative in the booth.

I guess the only thing worse than a Danica photo is what in the world is going on with Dan W with the long hair and those super white teeth!! Yikes.

Thanks for breaking your own rules for this one time event.

I hope Sarah Fisher has a better season...she has not had the great access to cars according to what some IRL writers write....she is not the glam queen of Danica but I would like to see her get some talk time.

I was bummed Mother Nature rained out carb day and hope things are sunny for the big race day!

Thanks for the photo JD, now I have a reason to watch the Indy tomorrow (wink). Any chance of procuring one of Erin or Christie next time they race in a truck race?

On a serious side, yes on the serious side, hmm I forgot what I was gonna type. Darn that photo is distracting.

Oh now I remember, on the sreious side, I will watch the Indy, I want to look for mention of Nascar on there since there are 3 / 4 former open wheel drivers now racing full time in the Cup series, and since ESPN /ABC carries the races. Lets see if there is a quid pro quo like there is on the Cup side where they always mention that these drivers were former Open wheel drivers.

On watching the Indy though, I wonder how many people watch it dueto tradition versus actually following the open wheel circuit. It's akin to watching the rose bowl parade, macy's parade ect since you parent did it every year and now you do.

Does anyone know if there is a scanner service for the Indy like there is for the Cup races? would be interesting to listen to the drivers / spotters.

I am actually looking towards this race as my #1 this weekend. Aside from the hype element of Danica and Helio (who are both good drivers), finally we will see some top talent from ChampCar, although in seriously under-developed cars. None will win, but how some of them (Wilson, Power, Rahal) do with what they have could very well make this interesting.The Cheever/Goodyear dynamic is interesting, l am kind of looking forward to how that plays out on raceday. While I don't want open warfare, I seem to remember that Bobby Unser telling Sam Posey what an idiot he was made for some great TV.

I understand what you are saying, Indy car chassis all look the same and the COT's all look the same, therefore fans of the auto manufacturers will not see a product differentiation between NASCAR and the IRL. Your contention is that the two series are now interchangeable.

I'm not convinced that the COT will lead a significant amount of race fans to the IRL. Sure there will be a few, but NASCAR is now so incredibly personality driven that TV viewership goes up and down based on how Dale Jr. is doing more so than how Chevrolet or Toyota is doing.

This is a NASCAR media site (please note that I emphasized NASCAR) so I won't delve into manufacture differences, however I think the days of manufacturers controlling racing in the US went away in the 1980's. It is ironic that TV viewership began increasing at the same time manufacturer involvement began decreasing.

Mr. Daly, do you believe that is a coincidence or is there a correlation?

Well, unlike some of the other "posters" on this subject, THIS Nascar fan is going to watch Indy from start to finish.The fact is that the INDYCAR drivers are gutsy-er and equally or more talented than NASCAR counterparts.Despite the over riding belief that drivers defect for the money, they also go because NASCAR is safer.This unification could be big for the sport, and NASCAR had better keep their eye on Speedway, Indiana

I will not watch the Indy 500 until ABC puts Paul Page back into the IRL booth. It was wrong for him to be removed in the first place and only to be replaced by Todd Harris. (Which lasted only a year). And now Marty Reid.

I'll not bother with the pre race show for the 500. Between the Indy, Race Day on Speed and the Coke 600. That's just too much TV in one day for me.

But will be watching most of the 500, should be interesting this year. The way I see it is there are 3 groups of cars on the track. #1 the top tier last year indy teams, #2 the top tier cart guys that have got tier indy cars worked out. #3 the "space fillers" So watching Andretti Green and Ganassi lapping the space fillers might add some excitement to the race.

sohiaz123 I agree I'd also like to see Sarah Fisher get some camera time, along with some better equipment. What little I have seen of her, she has impressed me as being very nice.

Thanks for the article, JD. And thanks for the Danica pic! This is one long time NASCAR fan that has always watched the Indy 500 since the 60's. I even went to an Indy car race at Ontario Calif back in the 1970's. Back in Indy's hey day with the Unsers, Andretti, Ruby, Rutherford, AJ, Parnelli and the rest. I've always watched the 500, if not a few other Indy car races during the year. If you're a racing fan you're a fan of all forms of racing, not just NASCAR.

I guess I don't see the conflict between Goodyear and Cheever like you do. I've watched the qualifying broadcasts and watched some of yesterdays broadcast and didn't see any conflict between Scott and Eddie. I enjoy both of them. Scott is more PC and watches what he says and Eddie usually tells it like it is and damn the consequences. And I like that. Too bad we don't have anybody like Eddie doing the NASCAR broadcasts. Somebody who's not afraid to tell it like it is. It's nice to have two announcers that don't have a hidden agenda. As we do in NASCAR with announcers who own teams or Toyota dealerships.

Anyway, I'm hoping for good weather and a good race.

Ritchie, I've got news for you. NASCAR has ALWAYS been personality driven. Back when Richard Petty was the hottest driver out there all you heard was Richard this and Richard that. Then it was Bobby Allison, and Cale and DW. Then Dale Sr. NASCAR is a sport that has been personality driven since it's inception. It's like a big soap opera.

As for the comparison of the two series going towards spec cars, I understand why they are doing it. Cost. But I don't like it. Takes away all innovation. The COT is one of the things that is chasing away long time fans of NASCAR. Used to be you could relate to what they were racing with what you drove to the race. No more. If you take all the fancy paint jobs and decals off the cars and just have primer with no headlight, taillight and grill decals they all look about the same. Boring.......

I have known Helio before DWTS but if he brings a curiosity factor to the race, from the fans of that show, that's good too. I like how he very NICELY called out Tony Stewart a couple years ago when Tony started climbing fences that Helio said "Just remember who started that Tony" he said to the camera when asked about it by a reporter. Helio aka Spiderman started it but yes, Tony goes all the way to the flag stand when possible. But Stewart once said HE started that deal...then I read somebody else did it in another series..but I forget who it was..(This from a brain that FORGOT to watch 10 hrs of racin' stuff on Thursday but I digress)

I just think this whole weekend is a racers dream. Wonderful Monaco, 500 and the 600. But if that COT brings down the race into a parade....I am going to be grumpy.(gee, sophia, aren't you always???)

The only thing that is scary in open wheel are the wrecks that shatter the cars (which I know they are supposed to do) but it is disconcerting.

And if they crash a little bit in OW, they are done. In NASCAR, you take a ball bat and beat out the fenders, put on some duct tape and back out you go! LOL.

In this house we are still adjust to the new IRL announce team...so I hope we get used to them.

We WELL remember the screeching TODD HARRIS whose voice stayed stuck in a high pitched semi-sceam mode. WOW are we glad HE IS GONE.

The guy had a voice for newspaper. :-)

I gotta say from day one I never liked the splitter on the COT and I would love to know if it is the problem or just part of the problem....you read varying opinions.

Of COURSE I am all for SAFETY but gotta be honest, am not a fan of the COT look a like deal...nor it's expense. Rusty Wallace didn't seem keen on it coming to NW either.

I know there is not turning back the clock and it can take a couple of years for a major change to get adjusted to...but holy smokes. Sunday will be a big test imo.

I have recently stumbled onto a couple of neighbors in their 50's talking car racing and am SHOCKED how a couple of them only watch the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard as they loathe the changes in the sport in 2001 when it went "Hollywood." These are guys that used to travel to the races and one guy worked for the Winston company for years...so maybe he is ticked at the whole having to drop the smoking title.

Still he ran into Ray Evernham a few weeks ago at a car show, I think in Indiana, and did not know Ray from the man in the moon. Ray started talking to him and was down to earth and a very nice guy. They spoke for about 15 minutes.

So, when the camera is not looking,, it's good to hear GOOD THINGS about the bigger names in racing.

We will be watching it all...Monaco, 500, 600. Should be Indy 500, attended every year since 1997. Watched on TV since I was a young girl. I would defy anyone who ever had the opportunity to attend 500 to not become a fan. It is the most amazing event (attended Daytona 500 last 4 years, also amazing, but Indy is Indy). Takes your breath away just walking into the place. TV can't do it justice. As far as the racing, some of the people saying they don't watch obviously never have. There is always great side by side racing in these cars. Yes, my husband and I are disappointed in the look alike cars, but we love all forms of racing. Oh, we have a Lexus, Corvette, Mini Cooper & Silverado truck...so other than the truck...don't see our cars on the track anyway!!!...LOL Let's go racing boys and girls!

IMS Productions plays a huge role in the IndyCar telecasts. ESPN has their technical people directing the show, but much like NASCAR has its own media company that works the cameras and owns the footage, IMS productions and ESPN has a similar dynamic.

In reference to the booth dynamic, I've been loving the coverage throughout the Month of May. Cheever and Goodyear have colorful discussions instead of both saying the same things. Both have perspectives on strategy, accountability, car control, and aggression. It makes for great television because Cheever can be much more of a realist while Goodyear tends to be the optimist. I seriously wouldn't mind them working together the rest of the year.

"First of all, the two open-wheel series are unified which will introduce a full field of actual racers."

On the one hand, as an IRL (and NASCAR) fan, I’m offended by this statement. There were plenty of actual racers in the IRL. The inclusion of Champ Car drivers Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal, Oriol Servia, and Will Power were the only benefit from adding the series. Guys not terribly famous, even among racing fans. The rest were scrubs. Sebastian Bourdais is a great racer, but he won four Champ Car championships in a row because he was racing against nobody. (Ah, except AJ Allmendinger, who could race him straight up. What might have been. . .)

On the other hand, human chicane, Milka Duno, is still in the field. (She seems like a wonderful person, but she’s in over her head.) She’s not even the worst. That would be EJ, where’s my pit stall dude, Viso. So, we’re still waiting for the full field of actual racers to show up.

And as if NASCAR has 43 actual drivers deserving rides.

In spite of my crabbing, thanks for your insightful post and your coverage of Indy.

I'm not one of the NASCAR fans that will be watching the Indy 500. I used to have some curiosity in the race when John Andretti, Robby Gordon, and Tony Stewart were doing the Indy-Charlotte double. But since the Indy 500 start time was changed to keep the NASCAR drivers out, that also turned away my viewership.

The "curiosity of where Hornish and Franchitti came from", Danica mania, and the CoT might be driving some NASCAR fans to Indycar racing, but not this NASCAR fan.

There's something magical about listening to the 500 on the radio. So, I'm going to be grilling out and listening to the 500 on the radio from the IMS Radio Network (Bob Jenkins will be one of the turn announcers), until there's about 25 to 50 laps remaining, and then watch the rest on television. And then lead that right into the television coverage of the 600 on Fox.

Man they need to get a nightly show on racing ala wind tunnel 5 nights again. Speed just does NOT get it. :(

in another article, I think robin shares my opinion of announcers in the booth but that's a personal deal...After all I DO like MW but he can get a bit screechy in the Truck races sometimes...shades of Todd Harris = : - 0

p.s. Oddly enough turned on the very end of the CLASSIC Indy race ONLY to see the camera focus on Mears family and crew. Shazaam!! I thought the was an annoying FOX Station invention....guess I need to pay more attention. Thanks for mentioning the race even if I just caught the end.

Now Classic is showing the year with Todd Harris as the lead announcer. Whatever we complain about Dr. Punch or anyone else in the booth, this guy took the prize for the worst - felt like he was getting on the job training.

Moreover, the contributions of the host Brent Musburger were actually NEEDED breaks from the lead announcer.

Also noticing Jack Arute was playing the "crew chief" role with the cutaway car alongside pit road.

I appreciate the news you had for me with regards to NASCAR always being personality driven. However,"always" is a long time, and NASCAR hasn't always been as it is today.

NASCAR has always had characters, but NASCAR didn't always have mass marketing and national advertising campaigns. So the manufacturers themselves would hire a driver, give them the best equipment they could provide, and then the manufacturers would hold them up as "star representatives" for the company.

So you would have Ford pushing Fred Lorenzen, Chrysler had Petty. Yeah, they were stars, but they were also representatives of the manufacturers. It was sort of like a crude version of how F1 drivers work for a manufacturer. It actually remained like that to varying degrees through the 1980's. People don't like to admit it, but when Dale Earnhardt was sponsored by GM Goodwrench, he was really driving the factory supported Chevy.

Now, the manufacturers have very little to do with the drivers other than paying them for promotions. In fact, Kyle Bush admitted that JGR wasn't even using the Toyota designed motor. JGR was using a motor built entirely in house with their own parts.

I have a question: When will the TV ratings be available? Will you consider doing a column breaking down not just the overall numbers, but maybe some of the inside numbers -- that is, did the Indy 500 start out with a huge audience and gradually lose it? Did the Coke 600 compare to years' past? Which series had better "demographics" in their TV ratings, etc. It could be fascinating - that is, if you can access the data.

JD- I am a race fan and used to love watching the Indy 500 - until AJ got old, Little Al could not control himself, and the series split. But, I got real interested again with unification - but somehow Paul Tracy got left out. Now you tell me the 500 will be infected with Mushberger. Another reason to question whether to watch the 500. On the other hand, I've followed Eddis Cheever since he was in F1 and I'll probably watch some just to catch him. I expect Robin Miller's analysis of the race will be better than the race.

P.S. Yes, Gibbs does use the factory Toyota engine. They have to use the manufacturer's engine approved by NASCAR - but, JGR assembles their own engines from parts supplied by Toyota. The other Toyota teams uses engines supplied by Toyota's racing group.

Personally, I'd have rather had a photo of Scott Dixon, the pole sitter. I understand why Danica does what she does--you would too for sponsors--but I don't like to see it used beyond its intent--but I guess sex sells races and blogs.

I'm not just a NASCAR fan watching the Indy 500, so I guess this column doesn't apply to me. I hope extra exposure (DWTS, etc) brings fans who might not otherwise have watched, but it's sad in a way.

But I really don't think any NASCAR vehicle in many years was really considered a 'stock car' in anyone's mind, so I don't see how that would bring NASCAR fans to Indy. Or Indy fans to Charlotte. Just different animals.

I just hope for a good race.

Funny how people always seem to talk about Musburger reverently when he's not doing their sport. I could never see how he knew anything about any sport.

"Americans know Danica Patrick from her interviews and extensive media exposure. They know Helio Castroneves because of his Dancing With The Stars efforts."

I think this American thinks that isn't so, at least not in such a blanket statement. Perhaps '*some* Americans would have been more accurate. I am just not fond of absolutes. I get the distinction of 'entertainment viewers' but that point is made in a 'secondary' way. I just expect more from responsible media. Even Eddie didn't want to go there.

If you took a moment to read my column, you would know exactly why Danica was pictured.

As for selling my blog, when you notice any ads on this site...you drop me an email.

We are not simply looking for NASCAR fans watching the Indy 500. Again, if you had taken time to read my column you would have understood that our regular community of readers asked to have a special forum.

There are no other racing TV websites out there. We focus on NASCAR, but have a very diverse group of readers who are enthusiastic about other series and racing on TV in general.

This forum is for anyone who would like to talk about the TV broadcast and the personalities involved. As we go, we hope to get some inside information from some of our friends on-site who email and text during the race.

JD This is off the beaten path, but I feel it must be addressed. I thought the pre-race activities for the World 600 were somber, and reverent, just like it should be, and then you get some dip that can't carry a tune to sing the national anthem. Why can't they just sing it the way it is supposed to be sung? Thank goodness for the mute button!